This is one of a series of posts I am doing as I read the short stories that have won the Hugo award since it was started in 1955.

I am finally at the last, and best, of the military science fiction short story Hugo winners in the 1960s. “Soldier, Ask Not” is part of the Childe Cycle, which is one of the great military science fiction series. Oddly though the main characters of the series, the Dorsai, did not come into this story until a fair way through, so while I thought this story sounded familiar it took some time for me to realize this is part of the Childe cycle. I have read the original book in the series (“Dorsai!”), but was not terribly impressed with it and had not read any of the other books in the Childe Cycle. Reading “Soldier, Ask Not” reminded me of how this series is well written, but is overshadowed by better work before and since.

Like the previous 1960s military science fiction, we follow a battle on an alien planet. Our perspective is not from a commander though, but from a journalist sent to report on events. The journalist also happens to have a grudge against one of the group of mercenaries fighting in the battle and wants to see them defeated. Rather than detailed explanations of battle movements, we have what the journalist is told plus what the journalist observes in the field. Thus we have a grounded level view of the battle that emphasizes the actions of individuals and conversations rather than the grand strategies and tactics of command.

This is augmented by Dickson’s world building and complex characters. Multiple factions are vying for power on the planet that embody various aspects of the human psych. There are the Dorsai who are expert warriors. The Friendlies who are religious fanatics. And the Exotics that embody intellect. This is mostly explained through the characters interactions, especially the Friendlies since the Journalist is determined to see them defeated. The one awkward piece of world building as an info dump at the end when the mastermind behind the whole situation explains their plan.

The problem I have with this story is that many of the ideas and concepts are either lifted from better works or have been handed better in stories since, making the “Soldier, Ask Not” and the Childe Cycle extraneous. For example, there is the idea of a faction of humans able to predict and guide humanity’s fate, which really sounds like The Foundation series by Asimov. In the Childe Cycle, this is even being done under the guise of a universal encyclopedia just like in The Foundation series. Likewise, the idea of factions with specially honed abilities and training is better handled in “Dune” by Frank Herbet, which won the Hugo for best novel in the same year as “Soldier, Ask Not.” Some better military science fiction since includes “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card and the Honor Harrington series by David Weber.

The other problem with this story, like the rest of the military science fiction in the 1960s, is its blind faith in the military. The warrior faction in this story are ultimately presented as the good guys with the fanatics presented as the bad guys. This has not aged well given the abuses of military power revealed in the late 1960s and 1970s. At the same time this is revealing of the attitude of the time. Glad this story won a Hugo given the importance of the Childe Cycle in science fiction history and to keep it in science fiction memory. Yet at the same time, I cannot help but feel that this story is rather stale and that I would rather read the works it is drawing from or inspired. This novella was expanded into a novel, but this really does not seem like it was needed. Sure, there are some added scenes to fill in the back story for the protagonist, but we already knew this from flashbacks in the novella. As I am finding reading the short story Hugo winners, often times the short stories and novellas are better than the novels in science fiction; I was also amused that “An Informal History of the Hugos” by Jo Walton had a similar conclusion.

Sources

The Hugo Winners Vol. 1 and 2 Edited by Isaac Asimov

An Informal History of the Hugos: A Personal Look Back at the Hugo Awards by Jo Walton, 2018, Tom Doherty Associates, LLC